


The Five times Makoto found Haru in the Tub, and the One time a Year he Never Did

by Aki_Sage



Category: Free!
Genre: 5 Times, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7350544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aki_Sage/pseuds/Aki_Sage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Makoto finds Haru in the tub, but there's always that one time a year that differs from the rest. Makoto/Haru developing relationship. Lots of tub time. Care-taking, comfort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Five times Makoto found Haru in the Tub, and the One time a Year he Never Did

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chibistarlyte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibistarlyte/gifts).



1.) Makoto raced up the front steps and through Haru’s front door. If they ran late for class even one more time he was sure they’d be stuck with cleaning duty for the next month, at least. Checking each of the rooms one by one found his quest ending outside the bathroom. Inside, he knew, one of Haru’s obsessions existed to make them forever late. Setting his bag down in the hall to keep it from future struggles, he steeled himself to open the door. With a fortifying breath reminiscent of his stroke he pushed open the door and strode into the small room, eyes immediately falling to Haru’s submerged form. 

“Haru?” Makoto firmly took his stance at the edge of the tub, prepared to drag the darker haired boy out if he had to. Said boy didn’t move a muscle besides the flick of his eyes and the upturned pout of his mouth. 

“No.” Is all he replied to the light haired oppressor towering above him.

Makoto sighed in frustration and began rolling back the sleeves of his school shirt. The look he received for his troubles was just past the line of devastated and he paused to stand akimbo, daring the other boy to keep resisting. With a stroke of genius he decided on a plan of action and hoped no further attempts were needed.

“I’ll make you a deal” he began, grinning as the sodden boy squinted up at him suspiciously. “If you get out of this tub right now and get dressed, appropriately,” he felt the need to add, seeing as Haru’s hands had twitched minutely across his swim trunks, “then I promise I’ll get everyone to agree to eat lunch by the pool.” Makoto finished with a flourish, offering his hand to the contemplating boy who seemed just about ready to crack. As their eyes met, Makoto rose one eyebrow in askance, leaning closer to the tub with an air of finality. Haru gave in faster than it took to finish a lap, grabbing the proffered hand and speeding them both away from the quickly draining tub. After waiting for the boy to dress and having his bag hastily reattached to him, Makoto found himself grasping that same hand as it dragged him out the door and toward their school. And if the sustained touch lasted only until they were practically on school grounds, well, he wouldn’t admit to the slight fall in his smile at its absence. 

2.) The hottest day of the summer found the pair lounging in Haru’s bathroom, each occupied but counting the time as spent together. Haru was once again submerged in his large tub, enjoying the cool relief of both the water and blissfully refreshing air conditioning. Makoto sat leaning his back against the edge of the tub, enjoying getting ahead in one of their many summer readings for classes. Every so often the comfortably dry boy felt minute drops of water slide down the back of his neck and onto his t-shirt as Haru played with his hair. He didn’t know when it started, but for as long as Makoto could remember their tub-side hangouts he recalled the dark haired boy’s affinity for spiking up the ends of his hair with water. Far from annoying, Makoto had come to find it endearing. Now, as he tried to finish his chapter, he found himself relaxing back as Haru’s slim fingers whispered through his hair. At the moment he would give anything to stay here, just to feel those fingers keep caressing him. He realized the direction his thoughts had taken and lazily opened his eyes, surprised when he saw Haru openly watching him. The boy’s mouth quirked with a small smile as he used one dripping finger to move Makoto’s long bangs away from his eyes. The light haired boy could feel as one, tiny droplet sped down his temple and across his cheek, just begging to be swept away. As his feelings got the best of him he reached up to capture Haru’s lingering fingers in his own, bringing the hand to his lips he pressed a firm kiss to the lightly water crinkled palm. A full smile finally graced Haru’s face as he relaxed back into the tub, sparkling eyes watching the sitting boy over the rim. Makoto kept the hand he had captured, occupying himself with massaging each of the other boy’s pale fingers as he returned to his reading.

3.) “I just don’t understand why he has to be in there all the time!” Rei paced back and forth across the floor as Makoto and Nagisa followed his movements from their own spots on the floor. They had gotten an hour into their group study time before Haru had cracked and needed a break to go recharge in the tub. They were all exhausted from the rigorous training Gou had put them through that morning, but their studies waited for no one and Rei had demanded they review their last few units before their next exam. Rei started up again, the pair on the floor seemingly unaffected by the rekindling of the recurring rant about Haru’s tub time. “I mean, you’d think he’d be a raisin by now, but for some reason he’s closer to a fish than anything else.” Nagisa giggled at the imagery, trying to hide his smile from the now put out boy hovering over him. 

“Maybe it’s a sign we should call it a night, Rei.” Ever the voice of reason, Makoto moved to stand up and stretch his sore muscles. The swim captain perked his ears toward the bathroom, listening for the splashes from the last five minutes. Rei gave a defeated sigh and plopped down next to Nagisa, trying to sustain his pout as the smaller boy began massaging his disgruntled temple. Makoto smiled down at the half of his team now lounging on the floor and made to move into the hallway--it had been quiet for a bit too long. When Haru disappeared his absence was usually marked by numerous splashing sounds, more often than not sounding eerily reminiscent of practice. He drowned out the sound of his friends as he reached the bathroom, listening closely at the door for any sign of movement. Once his curiosity became too much he quietly opened the door on a scene that caused a slight blush to grace his cheeks. Before him sat Haru in his tub, arms carelessly thrown over the side, and head resting against his splayed limbs in an effort to keep from slipping under the water. He was asleep. Makoto smiled at the endearing boy, enjoying the sight of Haru looking so sweetly vulnerable. Quietly he knelt down by the tub and watched his crush’s relaxed face for a moment. Before he knew what had possessed him he saw his own fingers caressing the sleeping boy’s face, soft skin enticing as his thumb brushed across slightly parted lips. A loud crash from the other room caused him to jerk back, his heart fluttering at the prospect of being caught as he glanced out the door into the hallway. A duet of ‘sorry’s!’ and ‘we’re fines!’ echoed back to him before he turned to address the movement he could spot out of the corner of his eye. Haru blinked sleepily up at him, brain not quite caught up to what had woken him.

“Mmm-koto?” The dark haired boy rubbed at his eyes as he sat up in the tub.

“Hey, you shouldn’t fall asleep in the bath” Makoto gently chastised the boy, trying to will his blush away as he watched the semi-delirious boy. “Let’s get you out of this water, I think we’re all pretty exhausted.” As he stood up he grabbed for the fluffy towel resting on its hook, Haru managed to get himself out of the draining tub and stumbled into Makoto’s arms. It was Haru’s turn to blush as he looked up into the eyes of the lighter haired boy, letting out a pleased sigh as his towel settled across his shoulders.

“Are you still staying tonight? And...the others?” Haru asked as he made his way back to his room to change. Makoto gave the affirmative before walking back to the other room as Haru made it to his own room. As the boys all prepared for their little stay over, Makoto was pleased to note that not only did Haru bring his own futon to join the other boys in the living room, he also managed to place it quite close to Makoto’s own futon. If their hands just happened to brush as they settled into their own bedding, they could always blame their tiredness for not pulling away. 

4.) Another hot day found the pair of blossoming romantics hunkered down in the bathroom as Haru soaked and Makoto read. Haru was now shamelessly carding his fingers through Makoto’s hair, every so often pausing to rest his chin on the dryer boy’s shoulder to watch him turn a page, or three. The previous few weeks had seen the two boys revolving ever so slowly closer to each other. They no longer felt the need to pull away when their hands brushed, or to be embarrassed if they sat a bit closer to each other than necessary during lunches. Some might say they were simply very close friends, but their team knew that the lingering looks between sets during swim practice meant more. Makoto listened to the movement of the water as Haru adjusted in the tub to resume his caressing motions. After a while the lighter haired boy felt the other's eyes studying the side of his face as he read. He smiled, pretending to read when really he was enjoying the attention. Slowly, as if unsure, the fingers came to rest gently on his neck as Haru seemed to cotton on to the fact that a page had not been turned for quite a while. Makoto turned toward Haru with a smile, only to find it falling as his lips parted by an intake of breath. The desire filled look on the dark haired boy’s face was enticing to say the least, and Makoto knew this was not a moment he was ever willing to give up. Little by little, so as not to scare him away, he inched closer to Haru. Two pairs of eyes fluttered closed as their lips met. If the electricity which passed between them weren’t merely comprised of passionate want, the setting for their first kiss might have ended in disaster. As it were, both swimmers reveled in the perfection of the moment. As they pulled away, Haru’s tongue darted out to catch Makoto’s lingering taste on his lips, inspiring a sharp intake of breath in the taller boy. Book tossed to the floor and water momentarily forgotten, the pair rejoiced in their newfound closeness. And if the water was cool and the floor unforgiving by the time they broke away from their kissing, neither boy could complain. 

5.) Makoto sped toward Haru’s home as fast as he could after their swim meet. Rin had been, at least in Makoto’s mind, unusually cruel to Haru after their competition. When the red haired shark had returned the group thought for sure they could restore their previous friendship. After tonight, and Rin’s admission to never swim with Haru again, it seem that would be too much to ever hope for. As he ran up the walk and through the front door he didn’t bother hesitating before dropping his belongings in the hallway and rushing to the bathroom. It had only been a few hours since he had last seen his distraught boyfriend, and the guilt at not having been there for him sooner was eating away at him. As he paused at the open door his heart clenched at the scene before him, thinking he’d never seen Haru looking so devastated. The boy was once again in his tub, but the comfort usually offered by the porcelain haven seemed nowhere in sight. Makoto dropped to his knees by the side of the tub, at a loss for what to do. Haru hadn’t bothered to change into his trunks, but it seemed it didn’t matter as Makoto realized the tub was bone dry. It was a testament to the depth of Haru’s sadness that the dark haired boy couldn’t muster enough spirit to even fill the tub.  
“Haru…?” Makoto placed a hand on the shaking boy’s shoulder, trying to infuse him with any comfort he could give. When Haru raised his head from his knees and looked at Makoto, it took everything in his power not to gather him to his chest right then and there. Instead his previously occupied hand drifted from shoulder to cheek, thumb poised to wipe away the rivulets of tears streaming down the boys face. A choked sob shook him from his pained musings and he knew he couldn’t simply sit by the side of the tub stroking his boyfriend’s tear stained face.

“K-koto?” Haru’s voice cracked with an air of desperation as he watched the light haired boy stand. He couldn’t help the whimper that escaped him as, instead of moving away, his best friend and boyfriend instead motioned him to scoot forward in order to slip into the tub behind him. Makoto settled and immediately accepted an armful of sobbing boy as Haru curled into his chest and let the days feelings swim free of his soulful eyes. Makoto vowed then and there that Rin would have a piece of his mind. The broken boy grasping tightly to his shirt never deserved something like this! Everyone believed him to be soft spoken and shy, but Makoto knew that Haru held so much love for others in his lithe body--that he cared for his friends so deeply--and to have this happen was akin to having his very soul crushed. Pressing his lips to Haru’s hair he held him tightly, whispering any words of comfort he could bring to mind. As time passed, the dark haired boy began to quiet as his emotional exhaustion overcame him. Makoto decided vows could wait. Haru needed him, and he would cradle him, in this tub, through the whole night, just to make sure that the boy he was beginning to love would be alright.

+1.) Waiting for a warm spring day was always the hardest for Haru. Every spring found him coming down with a cold after being unable to resist the opened school pool long enough for the warmer weather to finally set in. After he had escorted the semi delirious boy back to his home, Makoto had spent the afternoon making sure Haru actually got his rest. He had been periodically checking the blanketed lump that was Haru every hour or so, and the boy seemed to be getting better and less flushed each time. When Makoto had brought him some soup and his favorite mackerel for dinner, he had no problem sitting up in bed and devouring the strength building meal. It looked as though the boy would be almost back to new that very night. For once it was strange, Makoto thought, as he past the bathroom in favor of Haru’s room. It was strange to find his boyfriend in bed instead of living in his tub, and as the taller boy moved toward said bed he admitted he enjoyed this change. Haru sighed happily as Makoto joined him underneath his covers, shifting over so he could readily rest his head on his caretakers chest. Makoto had been spending more time at Haru’s home over the prior months, and the thrill at cuddling the smaller boy at night seemed no less powerful than the first time. Sighing into dark hair, the light haired boy reveled in the feeling of having his boyfriend so close to him. If he could spend a thousand nights snuggling with Haru, he’d wish for a thousand more and still beg for more wishes. As Haru once again slipped into a light doze Makoto stroked a free hand through the dark tresses fluttering against his throat. Looking back on their days relaxing by the tub he was thankful for Haru’s tub-side enamorment with his own hair. Now Haru was his, and he would never give him up.


End file.
